Can I Do My Dance Now?
Capella Festa, IWF UK Member, President, Schlumberger Foundation
In an uncertain and often worrying world, investing in STEM education remains an act of optimism.
“Can I do my dance now?”
It is a lovely thing to be asked on a conference call on a Monday morning.
That is exactly how Dr Darshana Joshi responded after I told her she was one of nine recipients of the Schlumberger Foundation’s first-ever Impact Prize, recognising her work expanding education and opportunity in India. As I shared the news with each winner that morning, I heard excitement, disbelief, laughter and gratitude. Above all, I heard optimism. In a world that often feels dominated by uncertainty and short-term thinking, it was a welcome reminder of what optimism sounds like.
The Schlumberger Foundation was established in 1954 on a simple belief: companies have a responsibility to help build the scientific, engineering and technical capability society needs to prosper.
When I became President nearly two years ago, I began asking how philanthropic funding could best help young people become creators of the future rather than simply inheritors of it.
I was fortunate to inherit Faculty for the Future, a fellowship of more than 1,000 women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from 95 low- and middle-income countries. For more than two decades, the Foundation has supported women pursuing advanced research in fields critical to the future.
A survey of our fellows revealed something remarkable. They had become far more than researchers. They were professors, entrepreneurs, policy advisers, mentors and community leaders, teaching thousands of students, influencing policy, building institutions and creating opportunities for others. What began as an investment in education had become an investment in leadership.
That insight led to the creation of the Impact Prize.
People sometimes ask whether supporting women in STEM is still relevant today. The answer is an emphatic yes - not simply because science needs more women, but because society needs more scientific and technical leaders who inspire others to solve complex challenges. From climate resilience and healthcare access to food security, clean water and digital inclusion, tomorrow’s challenges demand people who can combine technical expertise with the courage to lead.
Our nine winners embodied exactly that. Whether expanding STEM opportunities in India and Ghana, strengthening research in Nigeria, improving healthcare in Chad, tackling cervical cancer in Sierra Leone or helping scientists become entrepreneurs in Indonesia, they shared a belief that science and technology can expand opportunity.
One winner described investing in people as creating a “multiplier of hope.”
After speaking with them, I became even more convinced that philanthropy has its greatest impact when it backs people with the knowledge, determination and imagination to build something bigger than themselves.
As I finished those Monday morning calls, I found myself thinking again about Dr Joshi’s question: “Can I do my dance now?”
Perhaps the greatest gift philanthropy can offer is helping people believe they have the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to shape the future.
In a world that often feels short on optimism, that feels like a very good answer.
